The Beachside Redevelopment Committee dug in deep into the homestead exemption and its effect on code enforcement in the beachside during their meeting on Monday, Sept. 18.
“Homestead and the exemption that goes with it is constitutional, which trumps local requirements and local desires to get liens paid,” Volusia County Property Appraiser Larry Bartlett said.
The committee discussed how to solve the problem of homestead exemption fraud on the beachside, analyzing the financial impact of unpaid liens and coming up with ways to identify possible fraud cases in Volusia County. Bartlett announced at the meeting that he has submitted a proposal to the Constitutional Revision Commission that the term “and reside thereon” be added to the Homestead Exemption requirement, which was deleted by the commission in 1968.